Pitino's stupid things? Okay.

[Daniel Forant Sr <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>]

>Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 12:39:30 -0500
>From: "Christopher J. Littlefield" <cjlitt@erols.com>
>Subject: Pitino's stupid things?  Okay.
>
>Pitino's worst moves:  I think they were stupid, ill-conceived, and
>hasty.  This list is qualified by my separation of all his personnel
>decisions from his undisputed coaching ability. Last year's team did far
>more than it should have been capable of.  Anything I say has nothing do
>do with his coaching.  His learning curve in personnel matters has been
>steep, as well, but my _feeling_ is that he took what little he had to
>work with and proceeded to further hamstring himself in the areas which
>he himself admitted needed the most improvement, cap flexibility and
>talent-level.   
>
>The stupid moves
>
>1)  Signing Travis Knight for $20 mil
>Spent money unnecessarily on a below-average talent that forced him to
>cut Rick Fox, the team's anchor, who wanted nothing more than to be part
>of the rebuilding.  
I don't believe Fox was the teams anchor. Walker was and is.

>
>2)  Signing Chris Mills for $33 mil 
>Traded Mills for Thomas, McCarty, and Jones.  Jones was cut.  Thomas
>brough some value back in the Anderson trade, but basically trade was
>for McCarty.  Could we have used that additional cap space this year? 
>Did we need a small forward that bad?  I guess not bad enough
>to keep him. 
We needed some athletic bodies, evidently Mills didn't fit into Pitino's
plans. McCarty may be a player, we'll have to wait and see past this injury.
>
>3)  Trading Eric Williams for 2 2nd round draft picks and then moaning
>because he needed 'another scorer' 
Williams came into camp if I remember correctly over weight and with a bad
attitude. Pitino made an example of him. Williams should have known better
for a second year man. Sure teams would have paid more for Williams, so
would the tooth fairy.

>C'Mon.  We'll never know what happened here, but when the trade went
>down, teams _called_ Boston to tell Pitino that they would have
>paid _much_ more for Williams.  Maybe we could've gotten another 1st
>rounder, maybe gotten Keon Clark.  Who knows.  Additionally, the cap
>room generated by Williams' trade was not necessary to sign Mills.  It
>was for Edney.  So we traded Williams for Edney.  Was that smart?
>
>4)  Additionally I question the signing/trading of Tony Massenburg, but
>it's not as bad as the first 3.
Hey we needed somebody in the middle, Celts fans were itchy for wins. 

>
>These mistakes took place right at the start of the Pitino tenure and
>were hastily made, ill-considered decisions.  
>That qualifies them but does not, in any sense, justify or rationalize
>them.  
>
>I think they were stupid moves, and not just in retrospect.  Knight was
>never going to be the banging center Pitino
>was raving about him becoming.  Did anyone think otherwise?  He needed
>scoring.  Why get rid of Fox and Williams?

Fox played sporadic ball for the Celts, with LA he's a star, much be
Hollywood.  
>
>cut